Birthdays: Marcus Tullius Cicero, John Paul Jones, Victor Borge, Zasu Pitts, Sergio Leone, Hank Stramm, Bobby Hull, Robert Loggia, Maxine Andrews of the Andrews Sisters, Ray Milland, Anna Mae Wong, Steven Stills, J.R.R. Tolkein, Victoria Principal is 73, Dabney Coleman is 92, Mel Gibson is 68. Thelma Schoonmaker is 84
Belgian cartoonist Andres Franquin would be 100! (jan 3, 1924-1997)
1871- Henry Bradley patented margarine in the U.S. It had been demonstrated in the Paris Exhibition of 1867 as a butter that didn't spoil, so Emperor Napoleon III thought it was useful for his armies in the field.
1899- An editorial in the New York Times refers to the horseless carriage as an “Automobile”. This is the earliest known use of the word.
1926- General Motors introduced the Pontiac brand of automobile.
1933- MGM Louis B. Mayer hired his son-in-law David O. Selznick to produce movies. At the same time he was begging his workers to take a 20% pay cut because of the Great Depression, Mayer set Selznick’s salary at $4,000 a week. Newspapers joked “The Son-In-Law Also Rises.”
1946- Lord Haw-Haw, William Joyce, the English voice of Nazi radio propaganda broadcast from Berlin, was hanged for treason. Joyce was actually born in Brooklyn but moved to England at an early age. He was nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw because of his stuffy upper class accent.
1953- Chuck Jones “Don’t Give Up the Sheep”, introduced Ralph the Sheepdog vs. Ralph (Wiley) Wolf.
1958- Howard Rushmore was the editor of Confidential one of the most ruthless scandal magazines in show business. This day for reasons never explained Rushmore murdered his wife, then shot himself in the back of a NYC taxicab.
2004- Following the success of the Mars Pathfinder Rover in 1997, Two more advanced probes Spirit and Opportunity were launched. This day Spirit landed safely on Mars and began transmitting. The JPL mission leader announced "We're Back...We're on Mars." Only supposed to last 90 days, Spirit transmitted for 6 years. Opportunity for 14 years.
2004- After partying New Years in Las Vegas, 22 year old pop star Britney Spears woke up and realized she had just married her friend Jay Alexander while drunk. Today she annulled it. Alexander, who listed himself as unemployed, was soon seen driving around rural Louisiana in a $90,000 BMW.
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